After taking cornerback on Day 1, they strengthened their interior with 2nd-day picks Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton

If Phil Emery were to build a defense from scratch, he would begin with the line. That's where teams win by stopping the run and pressuring the quarterback, the Bears' general manager says. Looking through Emery's horn-rimmed glasses, disruption is the key to success.

He is not exactly working from scratch this offseason, but he is rebuilding a once-proud defense from rubble. And now that the first three rounds of the NFL draft concluded Friday night, it's clear Emery based his offseason blueprint on that philosophy.

That included drafting two defensive tackles Friday night — LSU's Ego Ferguson in the second round, 51st overall, and Arizona State's Will Sutton in the third, 82nd overall.

Along with the Bears' group of free-agent ends, Ferguson and Sutton will be counted on to help solidify a defense that surrendered a franchise-record 395 yards per game last season and an NFL-worst 161 rushing yards per game.

"Everything that we have been doing … as far as reviewing our defense and the changes that we needed to make to become a Chicago Bears defense — a tough, physical team that stops the run and gets after the passer — has led up to this point, and that is why we took these two players in succession," Emery said.

After drafting Virginia Tech cornerback Kyle Fuller in the first round Thursday, he returned his focus to the Bears' pressing need on the interior. Ferguson and Sutton each have upside, Emery said. New defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni, whom the Bears hired in January because of his 30-plus years of coaching experience, will be instrumental in getting them to maximize their potential.

"Both of them are more than capable of setting the edge, being physical up front, of penetrating the line of scrimmage with their power and leverage and their football skills," Emery said.

Ferguson, who measured 6 foot 3, 315 pounds at the scouting combine, is an athletically gifted but unproven interior presence.

He is fast and strong, but he's raw, having started for only one of his three collegiate seasons. He has developmental upside, particularly as a pass rusher, and is more established as a run stopper.

"I feel like a lot of people didn't realize how athletic I was," Ferguson said on a teleconference with Chicago media. "My ability to move around is a lot better than people thought it was. I just feel like I got a perfect opportunity with a perfect team, and I want to make the best of it."

Emery earlier this week rewatched video of Ferguson against Alabama, Mississippi St., Ole Miss and Georgia to confirm the Bears' plan to target him in the second round.

"Nobody could run the ball on him inside," Emery said. "This is a very strong, very powerful young man."

Emery also praised Ferguson's hand placement, footwork and leverage, noting his position coach at LSU was Brick Haley, the Bears' defensive line coach from 2007-08.

Sutton, the two-time Pac 12 Defensive Player of the Year, excelled as a junior with 13 sacks when he weighed 285 pounds.

As a senior, though, he played at 320, heeding advice of people who told him after his junior season that he was too small for the NFL. He was not nearly as effective. He won conference defensive player of the year honors again but had only four sacks, and that contributed to his drop to the third round.

"It was bad," Sutton said in a teleconference. "I've been working to get the weight off, and I'm back down to what I was my junior season. I'm ready to show what type of football player I really am."

Emery wants Sutton to weigh between 285 and 295, and Sutton said he currently weighs 290.

The Bears envision Ferguson as a nose tackle and Sutton as a three-technique, although they each could play both spots.

They join veterans Jeremiah Ratliff, Stephen Paea and Nate Collins in a tackle rotation that must make up for the loss of former Pro Bowler Henry Melton, who signed with the Cowboys in free agency.

Depending on how quickly Ferguson and Sutton acclimate to the NFL, all four of the Bears' defensive line starters this season could be different than last year's opening day group.

"I bet they think that us two could make a good tandem together," Sutton said. "Either he plays nose and I play three-technique, or vice versa. Wherever they want us to play, I feel like us two can come in and really do some damage."